Use of Nutritional Supplements Based on L-Theanine and Vitamin B6 in Children with Tourette Syndrome, with Anxiety Disorders: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by tics and co-occurring disorders. It has been suggested that anxiety occurs in 2-45% patients affected by Tourette syndrome. Despite dietary and nutritional factors have been found to affect a range of neurological conditions, no more studies have investigated the relationship between nutritional supplements and tics.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness of supplementation of both L-Theanine and Vitamin B6 in reducing tics and co-occurring disorders in a sample of youth with chronic tic disorder (CTD) or Tourette syndrome with anxiety symptoms.

DESIGN

A open-label trial. Patients affected by Tourette syndrome were randomized to receive nutritional supplements based on L-Theanine and vitamin B6, or psychoeducation (PE).

PARTICIPANTS

34 children (30 boys and 4 girls) aged between 4 and 17 years affected by Tourette syndrome or chronic tic disorder, associated with anxiety symptoms.

RESULTS

Patients in both groups showed a reduction in the severity of tic and anxiety symptoms. Supplementation with L-Theanine and vitamin B6 was significantly more effective than psychoeducation in reducing tics and co-occurring disorders, as measured by neuropsychological findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Supplementation of both L-Theanine and Vitamin B6 may help in the treatment of tic disorders associated with anxious symptoms. Between-group differences in clinician-rated severity did reach statistical significance only for tics. Despite this finding, further placebo-controlled trials are needed.